BricsCAD, BIM and Chapoo

The story of BricsCAD and online AEC collaboration is long and complex (BricsCAD… Bricsnet … Bricsys … Vondle – 2007 post … Chapoo – 2012 post), and appears is about to enter a new chapter subtitled “BIM”. Ralph Grabowski‘s CAD business upFront.e-zine reviews the history of BricsCAD’s architectural design software and reports:

Last week…, the company opened its kimono briefly enough to bare the briefest shadow of a plan for architecture. The company is

– writing a BIM module for BricsCAD
– using Chapoo for the online collaboration platform
– employing IFC and AECxml for data exchange
– releasing a beta in a few weeks that will run for a long time

The plan is shadowed in a Bricsys newsletter (PDF) in which Erik de Keyser gives a brief overview of building information modelling (BIM), mentions neutral standard file formats, discusses the need for a single model repository and then continues:

This process requires cooperation between major contractors as well as involvement of smaller sub-contractor with limited IT knowledge, and as such can best be provided by a cloud-based solution with zero installation hurdles and a seamless user experience. [Emphasis added]

At Bricsys we are actively working on two elements of the overall solution:

the basic BIM technology with our BricsCAD BIM Module which will be made available for an extended beta over the coming weeks

the collaborative platform for the management of BIM models, for which we will use the cloud-based Chapoo Premium service

Much of my focus in recent months has been on the BIM movement in the UK and how British SaaS-based collaboration vendors are responding. Some are well advanced in their developments, while others appear to be, er, biding their time. The BricsCAD/Chapoo integration, consolidated in February (post), has echoes of the combined Autodesk offering of Revit/Buzzsaw, and is further evidence of AEC BIM initiatives starting to take place in mainland Europe.

Update (22 April 2013) – The Chapoo website now features case studies, including one on construction of the Waal bridge in the Netherlands which used the Chapoo Premium service.